Fifty Five streaks into Penny Memorial

On July 4, 2017, Chad Brown sent the overachieving New York-bred Fourstar Crook to Parx Racing for the Grade 3 Dr. James Penny Memorial. She rallied from well back to win the 1 1/16-mile turf race for fillies and mares by 2 1/4 lengths, beating a good field that included My Impression and Cambodia.

Fourstar Crook came into the Penny on a seven-race win streak that included three consecutive New York-bred stakes. She would go on the following season to win the Grade 1 Flower Bowl, Grade 2 New York, and the Grade 2 Hillsborough at Tampa Bay Downs and conclude her career last fall with a 12-for-20 record and $1.6 million in earnings.

Brown will be at it once again Tuesday with Fifty Five, who enters the $200,000 Penny on a four-race winning streak consisting of the New York-bred Hettinger, Ticonderoga, and Mount Vernon, and the open Plenty of Grace. She will be an odds-on choice over seven rivals.

“She is a very nice filly, and even though she is a New York-bred, she is not limited to statebreds,” Brown said. “This is one of those times when we can try her in open company.”

While Fifty Five is not yet as accomplished as Fourstar Crook, Brown doesn’t think she is all that far behind her one-time barnmate, who came up only a half-length short in last summer’s Grade 1 Beverly D. and closed her career by finishing seventh of 14 at 9-2 in the Breeders’ Cup Filly and Mare Turf.

“This filly has a little ways to go to get to that level, but she isn’t far away,” Brown said. “She’s run some very good races and is very consistent.”

Brown and owner Peter Brant purchased Fifty Five from her breeder, Empire Equines LLC, and trainer Tom Bush after she won the Grade 3 Florida Oaks in March 2017. The 5-year-old daughter of Get Stormy has since put together a 13-6-3-3 record and is in the best form of her career.

The turf at Parx should be in excellent condition for Tuesday’s Penny since it has only been used for a single June 8 race this season after other grass races have been moved to the main track due to wet conditions. Three turf races were to be run over the course Monday – two steeplechase allowances and a flat race.

Jehozacat, trained by Arnaud Delacour, appears to have the best chance to upset Fifty Five. In her first three starts this year at age 4, she has won a second-level optional claimer on turf at Tampa Bay Downs, finished second best of 11 in a Keeneland allowance, and closed fast to miss by a neck in the Miss Liberty Stakes at Monmouth Park.

A gray daughter of Tapit, Jehozacat is a full sister to Divining Rod, a graded winner of $882,000 who stands stud at Country Life Farm in Maryland. Both horses were bred by Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who race as Lael Stables.

Notapradaprice and Arch of Troy come into the Penny off second-level optional-claiming victories.